This invention relates to display apparatus, and, more particularly, to modular panels adapted to interlock with one another and mount on a vertical support wall to form a display.
The types of products displayed for sale at hardware shops, paint stores and a variety of other businesses are commonly supported on hook elements mounted to sheets of apertured boards known as "pegboard". Pegboard is fabricated from pressed wood fiber and formed with spaced apertures in an array of columns and rows. The hook elements which mount to the pegboard include one or a pair of upstanding prongs which extend through one or more apertures in the pegboard and rest against the back side of the sheet, and one or a pair of downwardly extending prongs which rest against the front face of the sheet.
Although pegboard has been used to display articles for several years, it has several disadvantages. One problem is that the downwardly extending prong of the hook element which rests against the front face of the pegboard can scratch or dent the front face, particularly when supporting a heavy item. The hook elements are also not positively locked onto the pegboard and can easily fall off when an article is removed. In addition, pegboard is usually only manufactured in sheets which are four feet wide and eight feet long, and the number and arrangement of holes which support the hook elements do not vary from one sheet to another. This limits the merchandiser's flexibility in varying the appearance of the display, and also limits the amount of product which can be supported on the display. The holes themselves are unattractive, and if the display requires more than one sheet of pegboard an unsightly seam is always present between adjoining sheets.
Pegboard is also relatively expensive because the sheets must be first formed in a pressing operation, and then the apertures are formed in a separate punching operation. The pressed board is not strong, and the four feet by eight feet panels are floppy and often must be secured at a number of locations to provide the necessary rigidity for supporting heavier items.
Improvements have been proposed in the prior art to solve some of the problems associated with pegboard displays. For example, various designs of one-piece cast or molded modular panels have been proposed, which are interconnected along their longitudinal edges and mounted to a vertical support to form a display. In some designs, the modular panels are formed with channels adapted to receive hook elements which support items for display.
Modular panels of the type described above are generally easier to manufacture than pegboard, provide for the support of hook elements with limited damage to the front face of the panel and allow for more flexibility in the design of a particular merchandising display because they are available in different lengths and the hook elements can be positioned in any desired intervals along the channels. Despite such improvements, prior art modular panels have several disadvantages.
One problem with modular panels of the type described above involves the manner in whch they are mounted to the vertical support wall. For example, the display apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,331 requires each modular panel to be secured by screws or other fasteners to the vertical support wall along their longitudinal edges in order to provide sufficient strength and stability, even for vertical display of limited height. This adds time and cost to the installation procedure and increases the difficulty of installation because the longitudinal edge of each panel must be accurately aligned with the others to form a finished display with straight edges. Affixing each panel to the vertical support wall also presents problems in changing from one display design to another because the screws or fasteners supporting all the panels must be taken out and then moved to another location to vary the appearance of the display.
Other modular panels require stiffening elements and fasteners between adjacent panels in order to provide sufficient rigidity and stability. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,970 discloses modular panels made of sheet metal which are spot-welded to one another along their longitudinal edges and then connected to rear stiffening elements for added reinforcement to form a display. This not only adds to the cost of the display apparatus, but results in an essentially permanent arrangement of the panels since they cannot be separated from one another after the welding operation.
Still other modular, interlocking panels are unacceptable in appearance when connected together to form a display. Many prior art panels are mounted to the vertical support wall so that the screws or other fasteners are visible. In other modular panel designs, the joint formed between adjacent panels is also not hidden from view, detracting from the overall appearance of the display. The channels or slots which recieve hook elements in many panels are angled in such a manner that dust and other debris can collect therein, requiring regular cleaning or dusting.